Guarding a Rogue
by QueenofOld
Summary: AU Rogan- no powers. Marie is an A-list Hollywood star who hires a scorned and world weary Logan as her bodyguard. Can these two overcome initial presumptions and misconceptions so that they can have their happy ending?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Summary: AU Rogan- no powers. Anna Marie is an A-list Hollywood star who hires Logan as her bodyguard. Can these two overcome initial presumptions and misconceptions so that they can have their happy ending?

AN: Inspired by Notting Hill and The Bodyguard!

* * *

"Marie...it's time to go. Are you ready?"

Anna Marie D'Ancanto nodded and slipped her sunglasses on as her attorney led her out through the double doors and through the swarms of paparazzi that had gathered outside of the court house.

She'd just watched the man who had stalked her for six months get sentenced to a state run mental facility since he was deemed mentally incompetent.

The entire ordeal had been a nightmare from start to finish.

It started with her seeing him at virtually every premiere and public appearance she made. Her concern grew, however, when she spotted him among the group of paparazzo that would often form outside of clubs or restaurants she'd be patronizing.

He would just stand there amongst the shutterbugs without a camera, staring at her with wild eyes.

Everything came crashing down the night she was home alone in her Hollywood Hills Estate. She happened to look out her window and saw him on her lawn, staring directly back at her.

Prior to that, she'd never entertained the thought of employing full time, live-in security. In fact, up until that point, she felt her handy dandy, state of the art ADT system was enough...but that incident shook her to the core.

As she slid into the back of the limo, she let out a breath and removed her sunglasses. Her publicist, who was already comfortably seated opposite her was busily scrolling through her iPhone, "You've got an interview with Vogue at the Beverly Hills Hotel in an hour. You feeling up to it?"

Marie nodded and pursed her lips together before looking out the window as the lawyer and publicist exchanged brief, worried looks.

They knew she had to be wondering about the possibility of more stalkers...or worse, this guy getting out of the psychiatric facility and coming after her.

Fame had its price, and Marie D'Ancanto had always been known to handle it well. She was a child star who possessed a natural talent and rare beauty that evolved as she grew into a young woman.

After doing a handful of tween flicks, she "stepped away" from acting to pursue a degree in Sociology at UCLA. Five years later, she was offered the role of a lifetime. She almost refused, but her best friends since childhood, Jubilation Lee and Katherine Pryde, both convinced her to take on the project.

The part earned her Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

After that awards season, she was suddenly an adult Hollywood "It" Girl. Her face was on the cover of every magazine and movie offers poured in from every angle. Suddenly, she was a box office darling. Every movie she appeared in turned to gold and big name studios were tripping over themselves to secure her for high profile projects.

She guarded her private life fiercely and was often vague in interviews, but it was understood that, on set, Marie D'Ancanto was always professional, patient, and an all around joy to work with. It was reported that she regularly brought cookies and other baked goodies she'd made herself on set to share with the cast and crew.

After her interview, she returned home to find Jubilee and Kitty in her kitchen, cooking dinner. Marie smiled upon seeing them. Since the death of her parents ten years ago, they were the only family she had.

The two young women practically lived with her despite their own, "normal" successes. Jubilation was an in-demand clothing designer and Katherine owned and operated her own website design firm.

"What are you guys doin' here? I thought we were going out tonight?" she asked as she tossed her bag on the couch.

Jubilee shrugged as she peeled some shrimp, "We figured that, after a hellish day of courtrooms and paparazzi, you might wanna stay home and chill out with a couple of old school chick flicks."

Marie smiled, "God bless women's intuition, cause I am beat! What's for dinner?"

Katherine, aka Kitty, cheerily held up a cook book, "Ina Garten's seafood pot pie and a delicious arugula salad with balsamic dressing."

Jubilee and Marie exchanged humored looks as Kitty turned back around to chop some onions. Kitty was a self-proclaimed culinary goddess and constantly looking to try out new recipes on her friends.

As the three commiserated over the cooking and a bottle of wine, Jubilee stopped the conversation to fish a business card out of her purse, "I know we promised not the mention the big fat pink elephant in the room, but I love you...and now that this guy was put away, it's time to protect yourself from other potential creeps. A client of mine gave me this card."

Marie took the business card, "What's this?"

"It's a business card for Xavier's Security Company. It's very reputable and highly recommended. They've guarded all the biggest stars."

She shook her head and started to hand the card back, "I'm fine with using security at the big events, but I'm not sure about letting someone follow me around everywhere I go or live here. This is my home..."

"Your home which was already violated by someone who was looking to cause you harm...come on Marie. This is your life we're talking about", said Kitty with pleading eyes.

Marie looked at her friends and nodded, "Fine...I'll give them a call...but I'm not promising anything." She gave them a reassuring smile and sighed, "I'm gonna go throw on some sweats and take off this make up. Don't start the movie without me."

When she was finally out of earshot, her friends let out sighs of relief and patted each other on the back. Despite the casual way the conversation went, they had carefully orchestrated the presentation of the card.

Marie had been resisting the idea of a live-in bodyguard for years, and every time it was brought up, she got upset and sensitive, swearing that if she allowed someone to live with her, the intimate most facts about her life would one day be sold to the highest bidder to some sleazy celebrity rag.

Since the recent incident, her friends decided that her safety needed to come first, and it was time for her to put her paranoia about her privacy in the past.

Marie did call the security company a few days later, when she ended up nearly having an anxiety attack after mistaking the shadow of a rose bush for the outline of a man in her backyard.

She set up an appointment for as soon as her schedule allowed, two weeks later.

* * *

"I'll have another..."

Logan Howlett sat in a seedy, dark bar, downing shot after shot of whiskey. He didn't budge an inch when a man walked over and tossed a hundred dollar bill on the bar beside Logan, "He's done."

Logan smirked and set his empty glass down, "Ah...Charles Xavier. To what or who do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Let me take you to dinner Logan. All of that alcohol on an empty stomach isn't a very good idea."

"You know...I think I'll take a rain check on that date, but thanks for the drinks, Chuck."

Logan got up and made his way out of the bar to his awaiting bike. He climbed on, but of course, Charles followed, "I was hoping we could talk. I have a potential client-"

Logan held up a hand, "Lemme stop ya there. You know I'm done with this business...especially yours."

"Logan, I am sincerely sorry for what you went through...but do you honestly hold ME responsible for what happened?"

Logan sighed and paused for a moment as he put the key in his bike's ignition. He looked back at Xavier and shook his head, "No. I don't blame you. I blame myself for bein' such a fuckin' idiot."

"Please...just let me buy you dinner, hear me out about this client, and I promise that I will leave you alone if you still aren't interested after hearing the details of her circumstances."

After a long moment of silence, he nodded in agreement.

An hour later, they were in a restaurant. Logan was looking over a file of information Xavier had compiled on his new potential client. Her name was familiar, but her case was unique. She'd never voluntarily employed full time security before, and based on the lack of information contained in Charles' file, she must have been a pretty private person. Despite all of the measures she took to protect herself, she still ended up with a nutcase on her property, just a few feet and a broken window away from being axe murdered in her own home.

Logan glanced up from the folder, "This guy had an actual axe on him when he was arrested?"

Charles nodded, "An axe, two knives, rope and duct tape. He said they were 'for Marie'."

"No wonder he got shipped off to the looney bin." He tossed the folder back across the table and took a bite of his steak, "So, why me?"

"Because your reputation speaks for itself. This client doesn't just need a big guy to follow her around. She needs peace of mind. Having someone with your experience, strength, intelligence and credentials would definitely put her at ease."

"And, you know that, no matter what goes down, I keep my mouth shut."

Charles shook his head, "Logan...I never meant that-"

He cut him off by holding up a hand, "Let's talk pay. I haven't been to the movies in a while, so I have no idea if this chick is an A or Z lister."

The older man smirked, "She happens to be very in demand...she's a definite A-list, top bracket client."

"Top bracket...meaning-"

"Live-in. All travel expenses covered, plus $6500 to $7000 per month. That kind of money might be able to help-"

Again, Logan gave Charles a "shut the hell up" look. He sat back and crossed his arms, "Fine. I'll meet with the Hollywood princess."

Two weeks later, Logan sat in the passenger seat of Xavier's classic Mercedes Benz as it pulled through the gates of Anna Marie D'Ancanto's Spanish Villa style estate. The landscaping outside was tasteful and surprisingly impressive. A pool separated the small guest house from the main estate, and both sides of the house were flanked by gardens and outdoor living areas.

"Nice."

Charles smirked as they got out of the car and made their way to the front door. As they walked, Logan surveyed the fence surrounding the perimeter of the property. He immediately noticed a few vulnerable spots that would be make it easy for intruders to breech the estate.

After ringing the doorbell, a young Asian woman opened the door, "Hey, you guys must be from the security company."

Charles nodded, "Yes, I am Charles Xavier, owner and operator...and this is my employee, Logan Howlett."

The woman shook their hands, "Hi Charles...Logan, my name's Jubilation Lee. I'm a close friend of Marie's."

Logan screwed up an eyebrow, "Jubilation Lee...as in Jubilee Designs?"

The woman crossed her arms, clearly impressed, "Yes. Do you know my work? You do look a little familiar...maybe I've seen you peeping out my men's section at my boutique."

He cleared his throat, "Uh...no-I mean-well...I have a friend who I knew who wears your stuff all the time."

Jubilee nodded and smiled, "Come on in. Marie's in the kitchen..."

Logan had to keep from looking surprised at that revelation. The kitchen? From his experience, Hollywood actresses rarely cooked...or ate.

They followed Jubilee through the large foyer into a hallway that was flanked by a library on the right and a dining room on the left. At the end of the hall, past the stairwell, they entered a large, yet comfortable looking living room connected to a state of the art kitchen.

He spotted his potential future boss at the counter, wearing an apron over a tank top and sweat pants. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but some strands had gotten lose and hung lazily around her face.

Despite the fact that she was without an ounce of make up, she looked like a knock out. She was working on some kind of cake pan, vigorously tapping the edges with the butt end of a knife.

Marie glanced up at them with a warm, apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry...I usually bake when I have company over, but I put the stupid cheesecake in too late and now I can't get it out."

Just as she said that, the ring from around the cheesecake pan popped open. Marie breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "There. Would you guys like any coffee or tea?"

Logan nodded, "Coffee for me."

"Tea sounds lovely", said Xavier as they sat on the couch that Jubilee motioned to.

They watched as Marie cut and plated pieces of cheesecake and neatly placed them on a tray as Jubilee took care of the drink orders. Moments later, Logan was tasting the best cheesecake he'd ever had. Charles must've shared that sentiment, because he heard the older man emit a pleasant, audible moan as he indulged in his first bite.

Marie, meanwhile, removed her apron and sat down across from them with her own cup of tea and slice of cheesecake. Jubilee puttered around in the kitchen, cleaning.

"Ms. D'Ancanto, I must admit that this cheesecake is some of the best I've ever had."

She blushed and lowered her head briefly, "Hope you're not just saying that so I'll hire you."

Logan took another bite, "I have to agree with Chuck. This is un-fuckin'-believable."

Charles cleared his throat in embarrassment as Marie let out a gentle laugh, "I think that's the best compliment my cheesecake's ever gotten...so Mr. Xavier. What do you have to show me?"

Logan sat back and allowed Chuck to go through his PR dance and his elaborate explanation of prices. Jubilee soon joined them and began looking through some of the literature they'd been given.

Marie bit her bottom lip and glanced at Logan before carefully moving her eyes back to the older man, "Um...I'm still not completely sold over having someone live with me."

Charles looked at Logan, silently giving him the cue to step in.

He sat forward and placed his empty dessert plate on the coffee table in front of him, "Just taking one look at your estate, it's fairly easy to see how someone was able to get onto the property. That fence out there, while pretty, is completely useless and impractical. You live here alone, and even though I'm sure your friends make it a point to spend plenty of time here, it's obvious you don't regularly share your space...or your life, with anyone else. That makes you easy prey. Since the incident, can you honestly tell me that having someone here 24-7 whose sole mission is to protect you, would make you MORE uneasy than you already are? Or, do you think it'll give you the best night of sleep you've gotten since that man hopped your fence and stole your sense of security?"

Jubilee placed a gentle hand on Marie's back as her friend looked down and let out a deep breath. She looked back up at Logan and nodded, "Fine. You're hired. When can you start?"

* * *

**Guess who's baaack! Please review this chapter and tell me how you like it!**

**Coming up:**

**So we know Logan doesn't seem to personally like actresses...maybe we'll find out a little more about WHY!**


	2. Chapter 2

By the end of the week, Logan arrived back at Marie's mansion with his things to start moving in. She answered the door herself this time.

"Oh hi. You're really...prompt", she said as she glanced at her watch.

Unlike last time, she was now dressed and styled with a face full of carefully placed make up. He scoffed internally.

After their last visit, he almost forgot who she really was. Seeing her looking camera ready and meticulously painted up, he was able to quickly remember that she was nothing more than one of those shallow, Hollywood It-Girls that he knew all too well...

"You can just show me to my room and I'll get outta your hair."

Marie nodded, "Sure. Follow me."

She led him through the foyer and straight out through the living room to the French doors that led out to her pool. They walked around the pool to get to the guest house.

Marie opened the double doors to the small, yet beautiful home, letting him in first.

Logan stepped in and looked around. He stood in a small foyer which was connected to a living room complete with a love seat, recliner, coffee table and flat screen television. The kitchen to his right was equipped with a breakfast bar, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

When Marie knew he'd had enough time looking over he main living area, she led him down a short hallway. On the way, they passed a full bathroom, complete with large vanity, separate shower and tub. The bedroom was equipped with a beautiful king sized bed, dresser and matching night stand.

"So...this is it. You can get settled and...let me know if you need anything."

Logan raised a brow, "Let **you**know? You don't have some pee-on to take your orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week?"

Marie crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows at his abrasive remark, but regained her composure, "Like I said, I value my privacy, so no...I do not have any live-in employees. You may see a lot of people come and go...but other than that, no one else lives here. The maid, Angie, comes every other day to do the cleaning, so you'll meet her tomorrow."

She turned to leave, but he stopped her, "I'll need a list of all of your employees who might be coming and going and you'll need to let me know if you plan on having company. I also need a copy of your schedule for the next month."

"What? Why?"

Logan tossed his bag onto the bed, "You hired me to be your full time bodyguard. That means I'll be accompanying you on all of your outings and no one will get on this property without coming through me first."

Marie blinked, "You're coming with me everywhere...even to lunch or shopping excursions?"

"Wherever you go, I'll be there too. Think of me like your new best friend."

She sighed and murmured as she walked out, "I feel better already."

Within hours, the estate was alive with workers diligently working to "repair" her fence and install security cameras throughout the grounds.

Some time during the afternoon, Logan accompanied her to a meeting at her publicist office, then stopped off at Jubilee's boutique.

"Hey chica! Oh, hey there Logan. Really good to see you again...if I'd known I was gonna be confronted with a side of beefcake, I would have skipped lunch."

Logan smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets as Marie gasped, "Jubes! Sexual harassment?"

"What? He doesn't work for ME."

Just then, a petite looking brunette walked into the boutique. She was wearing a black pants suit, stylish sunglasses, high heels and talking on the phone, "Look Jackie, despite what our competitor promised them, I can guarantee that they can't come through. No one can guarantee a websites top placement on Google unless they're a retail Fortune 500 client. Now, if that company was able to convince Mr. Simpson that his 100 employee company will consistently appear ahead of Wal Mart or any other big name retailer, then it's obvious he's an idiot and I don't want him as a client anyways. I don't want anymore billable hours to be wasted on him. He'll come around when he realizes he's been sold a load of bullshit. I'm done for the day."

The small woman hung up her phone and snatched off her glasses, "Alright ladies...someone better tell me their day was better than mine."

"I think so...Marie has a new friend!"

Kitty's eyes lit up, "A new-oh! You finally got the rabbit? It's a life changer isn't it?"

Jubilee choked out a laugh as Marie's face flushed red. Logan knew "the rabbit" was an infamously effective sex toy, so he had to hide his own blush by looking down and slowly inching further away from the trio of ladies.

When the awkward moment passed, Jubilee took Kitty by the arm and led her over to Logan, "This is Marie's new personal bodyguard, Logan. Logan, this is Katherine Pryde...but you can call her Kitty."

Kitty raised her eyebrows as she shook Logan's hand, "Well, it's good to know Marie will be in such capable, strong hands."

When they were on their way back to the estate, Logan sighed, "So, what do you have planned for tonight? Geisha House, Liv Lounge, some other stupid, ultra trendy spot paparazzi hang all over?"

Marie gave him a sideways glance, "You sure do have me figured out, don't you?"

"I've been in this business a long time lady. No offense, but you meet one Hollywood actress at the top of her game, you've met all of 'em."

"I wish I could say 'none taken', but I am actually really offended by what you're implying. By the way, I have nowhere to go tonight. I have a script to read for an upcoming project and I'd like to study it."

Logan sighed, "Look, I never meant to-"

"I know you think you have me figured out because you worked for some A-list bitch who rubbed you the wrong way, and I would bother to attempt to convince you that I'm different or better, but I could care less what you think of me."

He smirked, "You care...they all care. You can't make it in this business without caring what people think of you. You spend money on publicists, PR people and image reps making sure you never veer too far away from the picture perfect sweetheart image you want America to always see you as. Face it, lady, part of your job is caring what everyone thinks about you."

After returning to the house, he checked the progress on the fence, secured the house and the property, then retired to the guest house. He helped himself to a beer and sat in his living room before flipping on the television.

After changing a few channels, he randomly stopped on a primetime channel, hoping to catch a game.

When the regularly scheduled programming returned from commercial, he realized he was watching Entertainment Tonight. He rolled his eyes and went to the refrigerator to grab another beer as the reporter began covering a story about the a new romantic comedy that supposedly included an all star ensemble cast.

He began rooting around his kitchen for some snacks as he listened to the television, "The film is scheduled to start filming at the end of the month in L.A. and will star the who's who of Hollywood. Reported attached talent includes Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, and Jean Grey."

At the mention of the last name, Logan turned back to the television, cursed under his breath and popped the cap off of the beer as the reporter continued, "Speaking of Ms. Jean Grey, the busy actress recently sat down with our very own Amy Lister to discuss her work, her charities and balancing it all with motherhood."

Logan took a deep gulp of his beer as he took another step back toward the television. He watched as Jean Grey's perfectly made up face flashed across the screen. Her red hair was perfectly curled and her smile showed off her gorgeous, white teeth.

The unseen reporter began gushing about her work, her philanthropic efforts and her upcoming projects. Soon, the conversation turned toward her personal life, "So, Jean, you've recently been spotted around town with Hollywood hunk Gerard Butler...is there any truth to the rumors about you two?"

"Right now, the only man I'm attached to is Jack."

Just then, a voice over of the entertainment reporter broke in, "Of course, Jean is referring to her adorable 2 year old son whom she gave birth to via sperm donor back in 2009. She said her decision to pursue single motherhood was an easy one."

Logan had to look away when they flashed a picture of the young toddler across the screen. The piece soon cut back to Jean who was smiling and beaming, "Jack is my true ray of sunshine. I love acting, and find my craft to be very fulfilling, but I knew becoming a mother was something I always wanted to do. I truly appreciate the opportunity to be his mom."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do...", Logan turned off the television and threw the remote onto the couch.

* * *

**Review please! **

**Coming up:**

**The presence of certain people on set of Marie's new movie present a personal dilemma for Logan.**

**Logan's past comes back to haunt him.**

**Marie has a safety scare.  
**

**Marie begins to understand Logan's hostility toward actresses.**


	3. Chapter 3

Logan stood in the driveway, outside of a car the studio sent over to pick up Marie. He'd already checked the undercarriage for suspicious devices, run the driver's credentials and took down his contact information.

Now if only Marie would get her ass downstairs.

He checked his watch again and sighed. Just as he was about to enter the house to see what the hang up was, Marie exited the front door carrying two portable tupperware cupcake trays. Logan walked over and grabbed one just as it was about to slide out of her arms. Marie gasped and thanked him before sparing an apologetic glance to the limo driver, "I'm so sorry for the hold up. I guess I shoulda frosted them last night."

Logan furrowed his eyebrows and repressed a small laugh, "You baked?"

"I always bake for the first day of filming on set...and for the last day...or for someone's birthday. It depends."

As they climbed into the back of the car he sighed, "Why not just buy 'em some fancy cupcakes from somewhere?"

"Because people appreciate the love and care that goes into homemade baked goods...at least that's what my grandma always said."

Logan gave a small nod and handed her the tray of cupcakes back. Luckily, since it was early in the morning still, the film set was very quiet, save for the milling about of the crew and arriving cast members.

He spotted a few famous faces he recognized before they made their way to her trailer. For several minutes, he paced around the trailer, taking in his surroundings and searching for any suspicious activity, but the security guards surrounding the set seemed to have things well at hand.

When he entered the trailer, Marie was sitting in the make up chair with her script in her lap, having her hair done. She glanced at Logan in her mirror, "Everything look good?"

He nodded, "Everything looks peachy. How long are you filming for today?"

Marie and her hair stylist traded exasperated looks, "10 hours. Two breaks. Wish me luck."

A few minutes later, when her hair was done and her make up artist arrived to fix her up, Logan answered a knock at the door. There, he found a chiseled, handsome, blue eyed man who looked like a catalog model.

"May I help you?"

The man poked his head into the trailer, "Yes, I'm looking for-"

Before the man could finish, Marie's cheery voice invited him in, "Hey Scott! Come on in. Logan, this is Scott Summers...our film's director."

Logan briefly shook the man's hand before sitting back down on the couch opposite the trailer. Scott and Marie began to talk excitedly about the day's filming and go over the scenes which were to be shot that day.

From what Logan had been let in on, he knew that this was going to be a romantic comedy about a group of college friends who reunite for a weekend of wedding festivities for one of their own. Apparently, hijinks ensue when unresolved feelings and romantic revelations come to light.

Sounded like an annoying chick flick to him.

When wardrobe arrived with her clothes, Logan stepped out of the trailer to give her time to change. Suddenly, a small mass slammed against his legs. He quickly looked down to see a little boy on the ground beside him, out of breath.

He immediately knew who he was.

Logan leaned down and helped the little boy up, "Hey there little guy...your name's Jack, right?"

The toddler held up two chubby fingers, "I two years oooold."

He smiled as he took in the boy's features. From his wild head of hair to his bright hazel eyes...

"Jack? Jack! Oh thank heavens! There you are!"

Logan looked up to see a caramel skinned beauty rushing toward them. She seemed winded, but relieved to have found the little boy, "My goodness, Jack. How many times have I told you not to run off like that?"

"I sowwy."

The woman wrapped his hand in a protective grip and looked at Logan, "Sorry if he caused any trouble."

Logan tried to make sure she didn't notice how intently he stared at Jack and quickly extended his hand, "I'm Logan...I'm Marie D'Ancanto's bodyguard."

She smiled and politely extended her hand to his, "I'm Ororo Munroe. Jean Grey's nanny-well, one of them."

He raised his eyebrows, "One of them? She's got more than one?"

"This little guy is a bit of a handful and she's got a pretty busy schedule, but he's fun to be around...aren't you Jack-Jack?"

Jack nodded as Ororo looked back up at Logan, "I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other...since you're probably going to be here with Marie everyday."

He nodded, "Jean's in this film?"

She nodded, "Yep, but she's supposed to be done filming within the next couple of weeks."

"Owowo, I hungwy..."

Ororo smiled apologetically at Logan, "Sorry...duty calls. See you around Logan."

"Right...take care."

Ororo leaned down a little, "Say 'bye bye' to Logan."

Jack smiled and waved as they walked away.

He stared after Jack as he and his nanny disappeared around the trailer. The door of the trailer opening behind him broke him out of his thoughts and offered a welcome distraction from the agony he was feeling.

Soon, he was watching Marie act out a scene with James Franco and actually found himself surprised at her talent and natural comedic timing. When they were done, they began setting up for the next scene.

He spotted Jean across the set, having last minute touches made on her make up. He glared at her and turned around to head back to Marie's trailer. He avoided going further on set for the remainder of the shooting day. Keeping an eye on Marie's safety was easy on set since the studio had already created a perimeter of security that would probably rival Area 51's.

Movie studios were notoriously protective over their actors and storylines. God forbid a paparazzo snapped a picture during the filming of a scene and leaked information about the plot in the tabloids.

When it was time to go, Logan was relieved...until Marie suggested they go to dinner with her make up and hair stylists.

They went to a trendy Thai restaurant across town and sat in a dark corner booth, talking and eating. Logan stayed silent as he continued to scan the restaurant.

Out of the large windows, he spotted several paparazzi began to gather. It wasn't long before they spotted Marie and were jockeying for the all-important shot of the Hollywood starlet enjoying a late dinner.

Logan never understood the obsession.

When a crowd of more than 20 shutterbugs gathered, Logan turned to Marie, "We should get goin', darlin'." Marie turned to the windows and saw the reason for their necessary departure as Logan turned to their dining companions, "You guys should be alright exiting out front. I'll have to get her out back."

Logan got on the phone and called the driver, telling him to meet them out back. She said goodbye to her friends and allowed Logan to lead her out through the back of the restaurant to the delivery entrance.

Just as they thought they were home free, a man suddenly grabbed Marie's arm, causing her to let out a startled scream. Before anyone could react, Logan punched her alleged attacker, successfully knocking him to the ground.

When Marie saw what happened, she gasped and covered her mouth, "Oh my God! You punched Justin Timberlake!"

"Shit..."

An hour later, Marie was at home, pressing a raw steak against Justin's rapidly bruising eye. Logan stood across the room with his hands shoved in his pockets. He'd mumbled a few words of regret and apology, which Justin accepted with good nature and humor.

"God, Justin...I'm so sorry."

He winced, "I guess that's what I get for sneakin' up on an actress in the back of a restaurant, right? Great bodyguard though...if I didn't know any better, I woulda thought this guys hand was laced with metal or something."

Marie laughed and glanced back at Logan, whom she could tell was really uncomfortable.

He decided it was time to take his leave and let her spend some alone time with the prince of pop, since it looked like they were rather cozy together, "Uh. I guess I'll head to bed."

Logan spent the next half hour securing the outside of the house. Just before he walked back to the guest house, he stole a glance into the back window. There, he saw Justin leaning in close to Marie. Either he was whispering something in her ear or kissing her neck.

Either way, he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

He went to bed that night, confused as to why he was so bothered that another man was with Marie.

* * *

The next day, Logan escorted Marie to her trailer and tried to make it to the catering tent for a cup of coffee. On his way there, he ran into Ororo and Jack. He tried not to smile too hard upon seeing the toddler, but he honestly couldn't help himself.

"Hey bub...hey Ororo."

The woman smiled warmly as she led the toddler toward the tent, "Hey Logan, having a good morning?"

"I will be when I get a cup of coffee that doesn't have foam, mocha or any other froo froo dressing in it."

Ororo smiled, "Well, I was just about to get Jack here a donut if you wanted to join us."

Logan looked around uneasily, "Your boss lets him have sugar? Thought all Hollywood types don't let their kids eat gluten or processed foods."

Ororo laughed softly as she ruffled the boys hair, "Let's just say she leaves me responsible for Jack's diet...besides that, we only get treats like this once or twice a week, right?"

"Wiight!" exclaimed Jack as he excitedly began pulling her toward a table complete with a large spread of breakfast foods and pastries.

Logan followed and found a regular pot of black coffee. He poured himself a large cup and sat down at a table where Ororo and Jack joined him. The nanny helped herself to a plate of fruit while Jack happily dug into a bear claw.

"So...how is working for Jean?"

Ororo flipped her hair and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "Um...she's busy a lot, so things always have to move at a pretty intense pace. You just have to learn to keep up."

Logan was smart enough to know that Ororo was basically finding a nice way to say that Jean was a demanding bitch who dumped off her responsibilities as a mother on others.

They made pleasant conversation for several minutes with Logan showing Jack a neat magic trick with a penny until the sudden, shrill calling for "Ro!" made its way toward the tent. Logan knew he couldn't make a speedy escape without arousing suspicion, so he just lowered his head and resigned himself to the drama that was preparing to unfold.

Jean entered the tent with large rollers in her hair, "There you are! I need you to take Jack-Logan...what the hell-"

Logan leaned back in his chair and favored the actress with a smug smile, "Hey Jeanie. Lookin' good...finally gained some weight?"

Jean's jaw tightened as she narrowed her eyes at Logan. She turned to Ororo and spoke through clenched teeth, "Take Jack back to my trailor."

Ororo, sensing her boss' unhappy mood, quickly gathered Jack up and rushed off. When they were gone, Jean pulled a chair close to Logan and sat down near him so that she could speak in hushed tones...possibly in order to avoid a scene.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you that if you tried anything-"

Logan held up a hand, "Pause and hit rewind, Red. I'm not here for you. I happen to be working."

Jean scoffed, "Working? I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Ask around. I'm Marie D'Ancanto's bodyguard."

She sighed, "Look. I don't wanna fight with you. Our situation has been working out fine."

Logan laughed bitterly, "Our situation? The only one who even agreed to our situation is you...hell, it's clear you're the only one who's benefitting from it."

Jean started to retort, but Amy, a woman she remembered being Jean's personal assistant stuck her head into the tent, "Um, Jean...you're needed on set-Logan...hi..."

"I'll be there in a second Amy."

Logan nodded at Amy, "Hey, how's it goin'?"

The young woman stuttered slightly, "Great, it's been a while. How are-"

Jean cut her off, snapping rudely, "-don't you have somewhere to be?"

Amy quickly retreated as Logan sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, "Sad to see that motherhood hasn't mellowed out the bitch in you."

She glared, "Just stay away."

Logan watched as the red head stomped away from the table. Inside, he was boiling mad. On the outside, he knew he had to maintain his composure...but his poor unsuspecting boxing bag was going to get it later.

At the end of the day, when Marie offered to take him out to dinner, he refused. He was quieter than normal, and she took notice, so they went straight back to the estate.

Just before they got home, she looked at him, "Are you OK?"

He looked like he wanted to say something, but sighed and shook his head, "Sorry if I'm bein' a shit head...I just had a bad day."

She could tell he was having a rough time with whatever he was going through, so when they got back to the estate, she watched as he made his way to the guest house with slumped shoulders.

After taking a shower, she made a large plate of nachos and sat out a tray of pigs in a blanket before heading out to the guest house. She knocked on the door and waited a few moments before knocking again.

When the door finally opened, she was greeted by the sight of a bare chested, sweating Logan. He was removing boxing tape from his hands, "Everything alright?"

Marie was temporarily dumbstruck by the sight of his beautifully tanned, sculpted body, so she stuttered, "Uh...uh...um. I...there's a football game on tonight...thought you'd wanna watch it on a bigger television."

He smirked at her stuttering and nodded, "Sure...ok...yeah...lemme just hop in the shower."

Twenty minutes later, he showed up at her back door wearing a tank top and sweat pants. He raised his eyebrows at the impressive snack spread, "You expecting anyone else?"

"Nope...this is for us." She fidgeted a little before quickly taking up the the remote and turning to the pregame show, "Kick off is in ten minutes, so...grab something to eat and make yourself comfortable."

Logan grabbed a large amount of snacks and a beer before settling in on her couch. Soon, the game was underway, and both of them seemed to be rooting for opposite teams.

To his surprise, Marie actually knew football. She called penalties before the ref's even threw the flags and yelled at the coordinator's shitty play calling. He was really caught off guard when she screamed at the Saints offensive coordinator for deciding to run the ball on 3rd and long rather than pass.

During half time, a silence settled over them until a brief trailer for a new movie flashed across the screen. It featured Jean's face and Marie was immediately able to notice that he tensed.

She cleared her throat, "You worked for her a while back..."

Logan sighed, "Yep."

"Her assistant, Amy told me..."

He nodded, "Figured. She's always had a mouth on her."

"What's going on there?"

Logan looked down, "I'd rather not talk about that..."

* * *

**Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the awkward moment of silence that followed after Marie brought up the dreaded "J"-word during the football game, they eventually recovered and actually made good conversation throughout the duration of half time.

She found out more details about his military background and his childhood on a Canadian farm, while he was surprised to find out that he actually felt bad about the lonely childhood of a child star.

"My grandma always kept me grounded though...she hated that I was a child star...and resented my parents for it. She kept tellin' them I was bein' exploited and that they were stealin' my childhood..."

Logan sighed, "Do you wish your parents had listened?"

Marie nodded, "Sometimes...well, a lot of the time. I never really wanted to be famous, but I do love acting. To be honest, it's fun and the pay is awesome. I just hate that practically having my every move stalked is 'part of the package' of bein' an actress."

"I guess I see your point..." She smiled and took a swig of beer as he continued, "I have to admit...you do seem incredibly down to earth for bein' someone who's lived a majority of her life in front of the camera."

She shrugged a little, "Welp. Thank my grandma for that. My parents did everything they could to get her to move back home when she first moved out here. They bribed her with a villa in Cannes, an estate in Louisiana and a round the world cruise...but she insisted on stayin' to make sure her only grand baby didn't end up like one of those entitled Hollywood brats she hated. Every time I had a break between filming movies or shows, she'd take me back to Meridian, Mississippi, and we stayed at her house...that three bedroom, one bathroom house with the big porch and the red shutters. She never sold it."

"Sounds charming."

Marie smiled at her memories, "It was. When she died, she left it to me...and I still own it. I go there whenever I need to clear my head. I never lived there full time, but it feels more like home than anywhere else I've ever been."

He found himself favoring her with a lingering, lopsided smile, "I'd like to see it one day."

"Well, maybe I'll get fed up with the paparazzi and you'll need to escort me there."

Pretty soon, the game started back up and all non-football talk ceased. When the game ended, Marie walked Logan to the back door. The moment was kind of awkward, since it felt like she was walking her date out at the end of a romantic evening instead of walking her bodyguard out after watching football.

"So...um...I'll see you tomorrow", he said as he cleared his throat uneasily.

She nodded, "Right. Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

The next day, Marie didn't have to report to set, so she slept in.

Around 10, Logan allowed her maid onto the property, who was later followed by her personal trainer, and proceeded to continue mapping out plans to upgrade her security system with perimeter cameras and motion detectors.

He saw Marie briefly, right before the director of her film dropped by. She'd asked Logan to let him onto the property and allow him into the house since she had to shower after her tough exercise session with her trainer.

Logan was lucky he was able to hear her over the roaring hotness of her body, scantily clad in a tight, midriff baring workout top and spandex pants.

He hated to admit it, but she was hot...too hot to walk around like that.

A few minutes later, Logan opened the gate and met Scott Summers at the top of the driveway. He drove a ridiculously flashy Ferrari...it suited him well.

When Scott stepped out of the car, Logan gave him a brief nod. Scott smiled and pointed at him, "Larry, right?"

His jaw tensed slightly, "Logan."

"Right. Logan. Sorry...where's Marie?"

Logan turned to lead him to the house, "Showering. Just got done burning it up with her trainer."

Scott let out a breath, "One less thing I have to worry about..."

He raised a brow and glanced back at Scott as they entered the living room, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just stressful...having to worry that one of my actresses might end up letting herself go halfway through filming."

Logan narrowed his eyes, "...and you worry about these things happening with a woman like Marie?"

"With any actress, really...that's why we put weight clauses in their contract. Can't have a woman bulk up and throw the production schedule off track."

It was then that Logan began to understand the immense pressure Marie was under to maintain the image expected of her. Living up to all of those impossible expectations couldn't be easy.

"Scott...hey...you been waiting long?"

Both men glanced toward the doorway to see Marie, beautiful, plain faced with wet hair. She wore a tank top and sweats. Logan had to keep from sighing at the sight before him.

Never was she more beautiful than when she was fresh faced without an ounce of make up.

"Nope, Logan was just keeping me company. Hope you have a copy of your script handy."

Marie let out a soft sigh, "Kitchen..."

As she led Scott away, Logan spoke up, "Uh, Marie, while I'm in here, I'm gonna go ahead and install those cameras on the upstairs balconies, if that's OK with you."

She gave a brief nod, "Sure."

Logan grabbed his tools and supplies from the guest house, then returned. A brief walk past the kitchen revealed that Marie and Scott were deeply engrossed in a discussion concerning the script of his film.

It took him just over an hour to finish his work. By that time, the hum of Marie and Scott's conversation downstairs had seemed to die down considerably. Quietly, Logan made his way down the stairs. He discretely peeked into the living room to see them sitting on the couch with their perspective glasses of wine. He watched as Scott stared at her and immediately knew what the slick, Hollywood director wanted...

He watched as he gently brushed a lock of Marie's hair away from her cheek, "You know...I've always wanted to direct you. Your talent has always seemed almost other worldly."

Marie blushed heavily and looked down into her wine glass, "I was really excited to know I was your first choice for this role. I'm really flattered that you've allowed me such creative freedom with this character."

"She's a lot like you...intelligent, fiesty...beautiful."

She fidgeted just enough for Logan to see that she was slightly uncomfortable, but not enough to let an oblivious goober like Summers see.

Before anyone could react, Scott suddenly captured Marie's lips in a sensual kiss. Logan immediately looked away, and silently made his way out of the house before he could see Marie gently place a hand against Scott's chest and push him away, "Scott...this isn't a good idea."

"Why not? We're both consenting, attractive adults."

She laughed nervously, "True, but...we're working together right now. I don't think it's a good idea for us to get involved while we're working on a movie together. If we end up having any issues between us during filming, it could put our working relationship in danger."

Scott sat back and nodded as he looked into her eyes, "I understand your point..." He let out a disappointed sigh and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, "Filming will be over soon...maybe then, we can revisit this."

Marie nodded, but on the inside, she was actually dreading the end of filming...she'd have to find another way to let him down gently, because Hollywood hotshots like Scott Summers were most definitely NOT her type.

* * *

The next morning, Logan tried to keep his jealousy and hostility toward Scott Summers show, but when he saw him on set, he couldn't help but glare at him.

The day drug by. Jean wasn't scheduled to be on set, so he couldn't even expect a brief appearance from little Jack to lift his spirits.

After the lunch rush, Logan made his way to the catering tent to grab up some food. On the edge of the set, he spotted Scott and Jean standing just inside of her limousine door, talking close and intimately. Apparently, they'd had lunch and she was dropping him off.

He watched as Jean grabbed Scott by the back of the head and kissed him feverishly, then smirked and ducked into her limo. Scott leaned down to say something to her, then closed the limo door with a smug grin on his face.

Logan had to fight the urge to punch the little bastard in the face. Just last night, he was putting the moves on Marie, and here he was, less than 18 hours later, making out with the red headed she-devil.

* * *

**Please review folks! What's the deal with Scott/Marie and Scott/Jean? Keep reading to find out!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So...how are things with tall, dark and broody over there?" Jubilee asked, nodding her head in Logan's general direction as he sat near the dressing rooms, keeping a wary eye on the ladies as they shopped in the exclusive boutique.

He knew he didn't have much to worry about inside of the place, thanks to the two giant, suit-wearing security guards standing at the front door.

Marie continued perusing the racks across the boutique, well out of earshot from Logan, "Good. Fine. It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. He's private too...really keeps to himself."

Kitty walked over with an arm full of clothes, "Keeps to himself? I thought he would have at least told you about some of his juicy stories from past clients."

"He's not allowed to reveal information about his past clients. That's why I like his company...the non-disclosure agreements are so ironclad, he's not even allowed to outright disclose his specific 'assignments'."

Jubilee tapped her chin and got a thoughtful look on her face. Kitty and Marie immediately noticed and shook their heads in unison, "Oh no-"

"Jubilation Lee...nothing good has ever come from that look."

Jubilee leaned in and whispered, "Oh come on. There's no harm in a little investigative work...I mean he is living in your house."

Kitty and Marie sighed, knowing that once Jubilee had an idea in her head, it was hard to get it out.

That night, after their shopping trip, Marie and the girls went back to her house to cook dinner. Of course, Jubilee ended up online, eagerly searching for information on Logan's previous "assignments".

Marie set a glass of wine beside her friend's laptop, "Would you please give it up?"

"What's a matter, Marie? Afraid you'll get jealous if you see pictures of him cuddling up with Jean Grey?"

She scoffed, "Why would I be jealous?"

Kitty laughed a little as she chopped vegetables, "Oh come on. You have the hots for him. Stop playing dumb."

"What?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes and looked at Kitty, "She'll never admit it."

"Admit what?"

Kitty sighed and took a sip of her wine, "You do that...thing you do when you like a guy."

"What thing!" squeaked Marie, clearly getting frustrated.

Jubilee laughed and tossed her hair mockingly as she began speaking in a fake southern accent, "You turn the southern charm up so much, there should be a guitar in the background every time you talk to him."

"...you toss your hair so much, it looks like you're filming a Pantene Pro-v commercial", added Kitty.

"Oh, and you stare at him like he's a piece of meat if he's not looking."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows and stayed silent for a while. She quickly grumbled, "Neither of you know shit", before gulping down her wine.

Kitty and Jubilee cackled amongst themselves before returning to their perspective duties. Just before Kitty was putting her quiche in the oven, Jubilee sighed, "I'm just gonna start googling pictures of actresses and see if I can spot him in the background..."

An hour later, the quiche was baked, cooled and ready to consume. As Kitty and Marie piled food onto their plates, Jubilee suddenly exclaimed, "Got him!"

Kitty rushed to stand behind Jubilee, "Holy shit...Halle Berry?"

"That was a little ways back...I found THIS picture of him with Jean...about three years ago."

Marie almost dropped her plate before rushing forward to see the picture. Lo and behold, there stood a picture of Logan escorting a sunglasses wearing Jean out of a restaurant amongst a throng of paparazzi.

She knew that his previous experiences with actresses had soured him on women in her line of work, and she couldn't help but believe that the ethereal Jean Grey might have had something to do with his hostility since it appeared he hadn't taken on any security jobs since guarding her.

Jubilee began clicking through pictures. Throughout a full one year period, Logan could be seen in the background of multiple, candid pictures that had been taken by paparazzi while Jean was shopping, eating out, going to the gym...and even on vacation. In one picture that was taken with an extremely sophisticated, long distance telephoto lens while they were on vacation, it looked like Logan was holding her hand.

Marie cleared her throat, "Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say? I know your personal-slash-professional experiences with Jean haven't been pleasant, and now you find out the man you're going ga ga over was employed by her for like...a year?"

"Why are we just assuming that, because he worked for her, there was something else going on? He works for me and there's nothing going on."

Jubilee smirked, "...but you want there to be. Besides that...they do look a little cozy in some of these pictures."

"Ok FINE! Yes. Jean Grey is a 5-star diva bitch, and yes, Logan is-"

"Amazingly hot", Kitty finished for her.

Marie shot Kitty a look, "Yes. He's very attractive...but that doesn't mean I should be expected to be jealous in this situation. I'm his boss. Nothing more."

"Oh come on! Jean Grey has been connected to every single man she's worked with. Directors, actors, producers...key grips. I would NOT be willing to put a slab of meat like Logan in front of her face and expect her to keep her legs shut."

* * *

The next day, Marie was sitting down with Logan in her home office, synchronizing schedules.

Logan noticed how distracted she seemed, and even had to snap his fingers in front of her face in order to get her back on task. The third time it happened, he put down his Blackberry and crossed his arms, "What's with you?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him, a move that, unbeknownst to her, weakened him.

"I'm curious about something."

"Ok...bout what?"

Marie fidgeted for a bit before putting her iPad down and sighing, "I was curious about your...previous assignments."

He immediately grew uncomfortable and shifted to lean against her desk, "You know I'm not allowed to disclose information about past clients."

"I know...but I'm working with your last client..."

Logan gave her a look, "So?"

"I was just wondering how things were working with her..."

She watched as his jaw clenched. A long moment of silence ensued before he straightened and began walking toward the door. Without turning around, he paused and spoke, "I'd appreciate it if you left this alone."

Marie immediately hopped up, grabbing his arm, "Logan, wait."

He slowly removed his arm from her grip and turned to look at her, "I didn't have the greatest experience with her. That should be enough. You've met her...worked with her. She's a bitch. Why do you need more of an explanation than that?"

"Because!"

"Because why, Marie?"

"Because every time you hear her name or see her face, you retreat back into this dark shell! What did she do to you?"

Logan started to say something else, but ended up stomping away.

Hours passed and the only contact she had from Logan was to inform her that her take out had arrived.

She pigged out on lo mein and egg rolls, obviously depressed about how her conversation with him went, she started surfing the web for pictures of Jean and Logan. She sighed as she looked over the photos again.

She began browsing through pictures, then came across a picture of Jean's son, Jack.

Marie had to admit, as much as she disliked Jean, her kid was as cute as a button.

As she stared at the picture, she narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. She opened a window containing a picture of Logan and put it beside the picture of Jack. As Marie's eyes flitted back and forth between the two pictures, a sudden realization dawned on her.

"Holy shit."

She rushed downstairs and outside into the open air, where rain was falling heavily from the night sky. The guest house was dark...and rightfully so since it was well past midnight.

"Logan!" she yelled over the thunder and lightening as she urgently knocked on the door.

A light went on in the front window and the door was soon opened. She was greeted by a sleepy eyed, shirtless Logan. He quickly pulled her into the house, "What the hell is going on? What's wrong?"

"I needed to talk to you about something."

Marie was nearly soaked to the core as she stood there, shivering and dripping in the foyer. Logan rushed out of the room and quickly returned with a towel, murmuring, "You couldn't just call me?"

He wrapped the towel around her and began rubbing her shoulders as she shivered. She whispered slowly, "He's your son..."

Logan's movements suddenly ceased as he slowly met her eyes, "What?"

"Jack...Jack is your son..."

He sighed and looked down as he moved away from her and plopped down on the couch, "What makes you say that, Marie?"

She found it interesting that he didn't sound like he was about to fight what she just said. It simply sounded as though he was curious as to how she finally figured out his big secret.

"The timeline...your attitude toward her...the fact that that little boy looks like a miniature version of you..."

Logan threw his hands up, "Well, congratulations. You found out my big secret. You're an adult Nancy Drew."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows, "Would you please tell me what happened?"

"All you need to know is, my work won't be affected."

She stomped her foot, "I'm concerned about more than your work, Logan...I'm concerned about you."

He stared into her eyes for a moment and flinched, seeing that she was actually telling the truth. There was genuine concern in her face.

Logan shook his head, "Let's go back to the house, get you in some dry clothes...and we'll talk."

Twenty minutes later, Marie's damp hair was pulled into a bun and she was in dry clothes. She sat with her legs tucked beneath her next to Logan on the couch as he nursed a beer.

"Jean kinda has a soft side. Once you get under all the layers of make up and the diva bitchiness...she's kinda fun."

She nodded, "I could see that."

Logan snickered, "She keeps her guard up on set on purpose. She thinks people _want_ actresses to act like that. Everything about her is carefully orchestrated. Every single move she makes in taking parts...going out to eat...even her personal life is planned."

"Her personal life? Even Jack?"

Logan took a deep gulp of his beer, "We became an item a few months into my assignment...but both she and I knew how important it was to keep it secret, so no one knew...except probably her assistant, Amy. A couple of months before Jack was conceived, she had those two movies that bombed, remember?" Marie nodded as he continued, "Well, she started reading all the tabloids about how women her age struggle to remain relevant as actresses and she basically figured her career needed a revival of some sort...something...anything to put her back in the spot light. I told her that everyone could go fuck themselves...and that she was gorgeous and she shouldn't be worried about what everyone else says about her. I was such a dumb ass..."

"No you weren't. It sounds like you were being supportive."

He chuckled bitterly, "Yep...being supportive of a woman who was making plans to rip my fuckin' heart out."

"What happened then?"

He walked over to the fridge and opened another beer, "One day, Amy handed me this stack of papers...saying the new film Jean was working on needed all of the people who would be on set to sign non-disclosure agreements. This wasn't out of the ordinary, so, like an idiot, I took everything, signed it without reading it and went about my merry fuckin' way. A month later, Jean and I stopped having sex...another month after that...I was informed, by Amy, that my services were no longer needed...and another month after that, I read in the tabloids that Jean was pregnant."

"Oh god..."

Logan nodded, "When I found out, I did everything I could to get in contact with her. Finally, I cornered her outside of her doctor's office. She told me I'd have no access to the baby...thanks to the fact that I'd signed away all my parental rights. I didn't believe her...so that afternoon, she had Amy fax me a copy of the form and my signature was right there...clear as day."

"Wow Logan...I'm so sorry."

"It's my fault. I should've known better than to fall for someone like her. It's sick, really...as soon as the public got wind of her pregnancy, she was back on the cover of every magazine and she was doing more interviews than an actress who actually had movies out at the time."

Marie sighed, "So she got pregnant on purpose...to advance her career?"

"And I was the big dummy who served as her 'sperm donor'."

She stared at him for a while, "You cared for her...didn't you?"

Logan sighed, "Unfortunately...yeah."

"It must be hard...watching Jack grow up in front of the camera the way he is."

Logan clenched his fist around the beer bottle, "You know she was paid a million bucks for his baby pictures? I think it's sick to exploit a kid like that before he's even able to open his fuckin' eyes..."

Marie took his hand, "You're not an idiot. You cared about someone...the wrong one. It happens to the best of us. It's not your fault she was a manipulative bitch. What you have to concentrate on is fixing the mess she's made of your life and of Jack's..."

Logan sighed, "The only lawyer who even believes I might have a shot in hell is this big shot that requires an astronomical deposit...truth be told, that's why I took this job."

"You really want to be a part of his life, don't you?"

"Knowing he's just out there...makes me feel like I have a limb that's been cut off and stolen. I don't want to take him from her altogether...he doesn't deserve to have his life turned upside down...but I do think he deserves to know me as his father..."

Marie gingerly reached over and ran a hand down his cheek, "You're a good man, Logan."

He leaned his face into her touch and closed his eyes. Marie leaned forward and slowly touched her lips to his. Logan slowly began to return the kiss as he moved his hands to grasp her waist and pull her body to his.

He pushed her backwards against the couch, covering her body with his and maneuvering his hips between her legs as they hungrily kissed. Their mouths only briefly separated when they broke the kiss to remove their perspective shirts.

Logan reached down between them and pushed his hand into her sweat pants to cup her soft mound as he moved his mouth to suckle the sensitive flesh of her neck. Marie moaned and gripped his wrist as his lips traveled from her neck to her breast.

He teased her nipple with his tongue before giving it a gentle nip, making her jump slightly. Frustrated with their lack of space, Logan quickly stood, picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom.

As soon as he laid her down on the bed, he pulled off her sweat pants and laid kisses to her lower abdomen before dipping his face between her open legs.

Marie gasped and arched her back as she reached down to run her fingers through his hair.

He dipped his tongue into her core as she shuddered in response and whimpered his name, "Logan...please..."

He quickly kissed a trail back up her stomach to her neck in a response to her pleas. She reached down and unbuttoned his pants before pushing them off of his hips. She grabbed a hold of his stiffened member and guided it toward her awaiting entrance.

Without warning, Logan thrust himself inside of her. They both cried out as he pressed his forehead against hers, burying himself inside of her to the hilt.

Her legs involuntarily tightened around his waist as he began slowly thrusting in and out of her, savoring ever single inch of her sweet body. He looked down into her eyes and slowed to a stop before whispering, "You're beautiful, Marie..."

She smiled and cupped his cheek before bringing his face down to hers for a passionate kiss. Several minutes later, Logan rolled them over, allowing Marie to take control and ride him. She slowly rolled her hips onto his and tossed her head back as she emitted nearly silent moans of ecstasy.

He eagerly gripped her hips as they arched and ground down on him repeatedly. Every movement brought him closer and closer to the edge. When she leaned down, dangling her breasts in his face, he couldn't help but eagerly reach up and latch onto one of her pert, pink nipples.

Suddenly, her movements grew erratic and rough as an orgasm seized a hold of her body. She screamed his name as he grasped her ass and came with her, growling out her name as they rode the waves of ecstasy together.

After shuddering through the longest orgasm either of them could ever remember having, Marie collapsed on his chest, panting.

Logan slowly brushed her hair out of her face and favored her forehead with a sweet kiss.

That was the last thing she remembered before falling asleep in his arms.

When she woke up 8 hours later, naked and strewn across her bed with the sheet haphazardly covering her naked body, she stretched and rubbed her leg across the other side of the mattress, expecting to feel Logan's warm body. When she was met with cool sheets, she turned over and quickly sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as she looked around the room.

"Logan?"

When he didn't emerge from the bathroom, she started to get out of bed and put on her robe, but a note on the pillow beside hers stopped her.

Picking up the letter, she read it:

_Marie,_

_Last night was amazing, but that doesn't change the fact that it shouldn't have happened. I know you're not like her, but I've made the mistake of allowing my work and personal life to mix before, and it ended horribly. I don't think I could allow myself to make the same mistake again._

_I'm sorry if I hurt you, and I hope can understand how difficult this decision is._

_I already contacted Charles. In the meantime, he's going to send over Peter Rasputin. I know him personally. You'll be in good hands._

_Good luck with everything._

She stood there for several minutes, rereading the note until the words were burned into her memory bank.

* * *

**Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi all! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I have a good excuse for that! I had a baby on October 14th! I already have a 2 year old as well, so you can imagine I've had my hands full! I'm amazed I was even able to get this chapter done. As you can understand, I don't have much time to dedicate to writing, so I don't really know when I'll have a new chapter up, so I hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

Charles Xavier was sitting at his desk in the Los Angeles high rise office building that housed his security company, double checking employee payroll and preparing to send Peter Rasputin to the D'Ancanto estate. He was racking his brain trying to figure out why Logan had quit the assignment...but couldn't imagine why his most trusted and oldest employee would ditch such an important client.

He heard a slight ruckus just outside his office door before it swung open.

Marie D'Ancanto charged in wearing dark sunglasses, closely followed by his secretary, "I'm sorry Mr. Xavier-"

Charles held up a hand to gently quiet his secretary, "It's alright Andrea. We're fine." He waited until his secretary exited the room and closed the door before offering Marie a seat. She sat down and crossed her legs as he circled his desk and took a seat in his own chair, "What can I do for you?"

"I signed a contract with your company. The terms of that contract name Logan Howlett as my primary security and personal bodyguard. Now I'm here because, if you don't give me information on where to find my wayward bodyguard, I'll have to sue your company for breech of contract and name him as the primary litigant. Would you like to provide me with a primary home address for Mr. Howlett or shall I have my lawyer request it for me?"

Charles raised both eyebrows briefly before tearing off a post-it and jotting down a few addresses and names, "This is the apartment he was renting in Studio City and this is the name of the bar he frequents. If you can't find him here, there's a chance he's taken a quick jaunt to Las Vegas, but if you give him a week, I will personally ensure he reports directly to you when he returns."

Marie favored him with a polite smile, "Thank you Mr. Xavier. You've been so helpful...as usual."

She stood up and walked out, leaving Charles looking a little nervous. As soon as she was gone, he dialed Logan's number. The usually stoic Englishman angrily spat into the phone when it went straight to voicemail, "Logan Howlett, I don't know what you did to Marie D'Ancanto, but if you don't get your hairy hide back to this city to explain yourself, I'll hunt you down myself. Call me back, ASAP!"

An hour later, in a dark apartment in Studio City, Logan sat nursing a bottle of whiskey. He was listening as Charles left yet another message on his home answering machine.

Logan heard a brief knock on the door and rolled his eyes, "Go away, Chuck. I'm not ready to participate in one of your therapy sessions."

He groaned and stood when the knocking persisted. He staggered over to the door and grumbled, "Fine...fine...but I'm finishing this bottle whether you like or not."

As soon as the door opened, he was punched just hard enough to send his drunken frame sprawling to the ground.

Marie hissed and shook her hand gingerly as pain radiated through it. Logan was one hardheaded bastard.

She quickly turned her attention from her hand to the man who was barely conscious, moaning and writhing on the floor as he fought to hang onto his consciousness. Briefly ignoring the throb in her hand, she pulled an envelope out of her purse and tossed it onto Logan's chest before turning to walk out of his apartment.

Marie was sure to slam the door on her way out for good measure.

Meanwhile, Logan gave up on attempting to get up and just laid there, falling into a drunken sleep. A couple of hours later, he woke up with the envelope still on his stomach and the spilled whiskey bottle still clutched in his fist.

His head swam as he sat up and rubbed a hand down his weary face, trying to remember if what he thought happened really happened...or did he dream it all? Did Marie D'Ancanto actually show up at his apartment and punch him in the face?

He grabbed the envelope and opened it to find a sizable wad of cash attached to a note that read:

_Dear Logan,_

_While I appreciate your ill-timed letter of resignation, I would like to inform you that I am rejecting it. Enclosed in this envelope, you will find a pay advance totaling twenty thousand dollars in cash. This should be enough to cover any lawyers fees you may incur concerning the situation we discussed prior to your attempted resignation. _

_Due to our extenuating circumstances, you can take two days off to get your personal affairs in order. After those days are up, I expect for you to return to your duties as my head of security._

_If the conditions of the contract I signed with your company are not fulfilled, you and Xavier Security Company will be named as litigants in a lawsuit._

_I look forward to continuing our work together._

_Marie D'Ancanto_

"Holy fuck."

Before that moment, he was sure that all of Xavier's messages concerning being sued and Marie's anger was overblown. But now, as he laid on his living room floor with a sore jaw and twenty thousand in cold, hard cash, he realized how angry she was...and how big of a mistake he'd made.

* * *

Two days later, Logan showed up at Marie's estate. He'd spent the last 48 hours working up the nerve to face her. When he entered the house, he found a maid dressed in a traditional uniform.

He quirked an eyebrow at the woman and looked around, almost as if he wanted to make sure he hadn't entered the wrong house.

"Hello sir, you must be Logan...Miss Marie said you would be back today. I'm Trina, her new maid."

Logan furrowed his eyebrows yet again, "Trina...right. I'll need a full-"

The woman cut him off by producing a stack of folded papers, "My full background check, references, and Miss Marie's contact at the agency." He eyed the woman as he took the papers from her. She smiled warmly, "Miss Marie said you were thorough. It's standard for the type of clients I work for to have professional bodyguards who require this type of information."

Before Logan could say anymore to the woman, Marie walked down the stairs. Her hair and make up were already done and she wore dark sunglasses. A woman talking a mile a minute while scrolling through an iPad followed her, spouting off the details of her schedule.

Marie spared him a glance (or he thinks she did...he couldn't see much past her dark sunglasses), then looked in Trina's direction, "I see you've met Logan. Sara, this is Logan. Logan, this is Sara. My new personal assistant."

"You have a personal assistant now?"

Marie's mouth briefly twisted into a half smirk before she turned back to Sara, "Would you check to see if the car is out front?"

Trina had made herself busy cleaning in the kitchen, so after Sara exited out the front door, Logan and Marie were left alone in the foyer.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and awkwardly rocked on his heels a bit as Marie crossed her arms, "You look like you have something on your mind Logan."

"Look...Marie...I never meant to-"

"Save the bull shit, Logan. I have a well-penned note that outlines everything you 'meant' to do. When you left me in bed that morning, you knew exactly what you were doing, but you know what? I'm fine. I know exactly who you are now. The only thing I want from you now is for you to keep me alive."

She rudely brushed past him as she walked toward the door, but he stopped her, "Marie...you could have had any one of the bodyguards from Xavier's company...why did you need me if you hated me so much?"

Marie stopped and turned around, "Because, despite the fact that you're a giant asshole...I can't imagine feeling safer with anyone else."

She exited the house, thankful for the big dark sunglasses that hid her tear-rimmed eyes.

* * *

For days, he watched her turn from the woman he knew and loved to the woman he knew and hated.

The assistant that followed her around like she was her personal minion...the new, live-in maid...the multiple, carefully orchestrated public appearances. It was as if she had started acting more like Jean just to spite him.

In truth, that was only part of it. Marie was now keeping herself hidden behind make up and an entourage because of how deeply she had been hurt.

In her years as a starlet, she'd dated few and loved none...until Logan. When he hurt her, the pain ran deep and the only way she knew how to cope was through anger and becoming distant.

She'd become so removed from the person she once was that she now had her assistant coordinating with Logan concerning her schedule. As Logan plugged the latest happenings into his iPhone, he realized just how much Marie had changed...and how much he must have hurt her.

Sara busily tapped the screen of her iPad as she droned on about Marie's schedule, "Tuesday, there's a photoshoot and interview for Elle...Wednesday, an interview with Anne Curry, Thursday, she reports on set at 7am. At 6pm that same day, she has dinner with the girls. Friday, she's needed on set at 5am, and on Saturday night, she's going to the opening of a club in West Hollywood."

Logan looked up, "Club opening? There's gotta be some mistake...she doesn't-"

He stopped himself from saying that Marie didn't go to clubs...she was a home body who enjoyed watching football and dinner at home with her friends. Instead, he shook his head as Sara raised a brow, "She doesn't-what?"

Logan shook his head again, "Nothing."

Sara continued rambling as he monotonously plugged information into his phone, but he couldn't get over the fact that low-key, private, homebody Marie was giving multiple interviews a week and attending a club opening.

That was so unlike her...

When Thursday rolled around, he accompanied her to dinner with the girls to Geisha House sushi lounge, a notorious hot spot for the young Hollywood elite and obvious paparazzi hang out.

He almost dislocated her shoulder trying to pull her through the over eager throng of photogs that had gathered while she ate and mingled.

Saturday night, he found himself escorting her to the red carpet opening of Club Aqua. He watched her flash her dazzling smile as she walked the red carpet in a metallic silver mini dress she'd paired with a cropped leather jacket and silver stiletto "come fuck me" heels.

He shuddered at how amazing she looked.

She posed graciously for the photographers, and even favored them with an over the shoulder "check out my ass" shot that made Logan weak in the knees.

Suddenly, Scott Summers walked onto the red carpet. Marie smiled widely and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. They said a few words to each other, then Logan watched in horror as Scott snaked his arm around Marie's waist and pulled her close to pose for some pictures.

Even more horrifying was that Marie smiled, pressed her cheek against his and posed for the camera. Logan thought he was about to lose it when he watched her favor Scott with a posed kiss on the cheek.

No doubt the tabloids would eat that up...the young Hollywood starlet and her hunky director falling for each other on the set of his latest movie...

As they made their way inside the club, Logan was careful to note that Scott's arm never left Marie's waist.

Inside the club, he watched over her as she ordered drink after drink. She sat next to Scott in the VIP section, letting him whisper in her ear, touch her leg and brush her hair off of her neck.

Logan was busy trying to prevent fans from taking cell phone pictures of the two, but he knew it was no use. The obvious, disgusting display she was putting on with the boy scout would be splattered across the internet before they got home tonight.

He took his eyes off of her for a brief moment when a drunk woman (and her drink) crashed into him. By the time he helped peel her off of the ground, Marie and Scott were gone...

Meanwhile, Scott had pulled a tipsy Marie down a dark hallway to a storage room. The two fumbled around, drunkenly laughing in the dark closet as they fell into each others arms. He kissed her hungrily as he backed her up against the shelves behind her.

Marie returned the kiss, but as he moved his lips from hers to her collar bone, she shook her head and pushed at his shoulders, "Scott...wait...I can't."

The kisses stopped before he stood straight up to look into her face. He gently cupped her cheek and smiled, "Come on, beautiful...there's nothing wrong with some fun."

Just as she was about to allow him to kiss her again, the storage closet door flew open. Logan growled as he snatched Scott out of the closet by his collar and shoved him down the hallway.

Scott stumbled, but recovered quickly, "What the fuck, man?"

Logan turned pointed at Scott, "Leave her the fuck alone. She's drunk and you're trying to take advantage of her, now fuck off!"

Marie beat Logan in the chest with her fists and shoved him, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You're drunk, Marie."

"I'm not!" He gave her a matter-of-fact look which made her roll her eyes and throw her hands up, "Fine! Maybe a little...but who I'm fooling around with in dark closets is none of your goddamn business, you jackass!"

Before he could retort, Marie rushed away and made a beeline toward the exit of the club. He rushed after her, calling her name and pushing through the large crowd of people on the dance floor.

When Marie burst out the doors, she was met by a throng of paparazzi who eagerly snapped her picture. The flash of the bulbs, combined with the affect of the alcohol caused her to lose her footing and stumble to the ground as photographers eagerly took her picture.

Logan arrived and rushed to help her, quickly picking her up off the ground. He led her to one of the awaiting town cars parked on the curb and placed her inside.

Forty five minutes later, Logan was holding Marie's leg on his lap, gently cleaning her skinned knee with peroxide. She hissed in pain, prompting him to gently blow on her wound before gingerly bandaging it with gauze.

She rubbed her head and sighed as he finished and gently lowered her leg to the floor, "Thanks."

He watched her walk up the stairs, "You're welcome."

She was halfway up the stairs when he called her name. Marie turned around and raised her eyebrows, "What is it Logan?"

He didn't speak. He simply walked up the stairs and looked into her eyes. He took her face in his hands and kissed her hungrily. Marie returned the kiss as he eagerly backed her up against the wall, pressing his body against hers.

The kiss went on for forever...but not long enough by the time she screamed "no" and pushed away from him before running up the stairs.

* * *

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**It's a miracle, but this is a new chapter! My newborn sleeps plenty during the day, so if one of her naps happens to fall during my sons naps, I'm free! Luckily for fanfic, that's happened three times in a row! (sorry in advance for typos/grammar. I may have time to write, but not to self-edit!)  
**

* * *

"Mariiiiiiie...wakey wakey sleepy head..." said a sing-songy voice she recognized, but didn't want to acknowledge.

She covered her face with her plush, down feather comforter as the intruder snatched open the curtains, "Go away! I'm bitter and hung over."

Jubilee sighed, "Be that as it may, sister, you're gonna wanna see this."

Marie felt an object get dropped on the bed beside her and reluctantly emerged from beneath her blanket. She looked down to spot an iPad on her bed. Splashed across the screen was a picture of her in mid-stumble with a caption reading _"America's Trashed Sweetheart?"_

She quickly grabbed up the iPad, "Shit!"

"Those bastards are fast, huh?"

Marie cursed again and began reading aloud, _"Marie D'Ancanto took some time out of her busy filming schedule to attend the opening of Club Aqua in downtown Los Angeles. The young starlet was seen downing drinks and cozying up with her latest film's director, Scott Summers. Sources close to Summers tells us that the two are 'definitely an item', claiming that Summers makes regular visits to Marie's Hollywood Hills estate."_She shook her head and looked up as Kitty walked in with a mug of coffee and plate of breakfast foods, "This is bullshit! It's not true! You know it's not true!"

Kitty and Jubilee exchanged bemused looks, "We'd know it weren't true if we'd been invited to the club last night..."

Marie rolled her eyes and plopped back against her pillows, "I'm sorry! I know I'm an awful friend...I just wanted to do something different...something completely unlike me."

Kitty put the mug of coffee on the nightstand, "Something completely unlike the Marie that let herself fall for a guy who broke her heart..."

She looked at her friends and narrowed her eyes, "Unannounced, early morning visit...homecooked meal...insightful, yet obvious musings...you're trying to perform an inter-friend-tion on me!"

Jubilee crossed her arms and muttered to Kitty, "Told you she would see through it."

"Of course I would! I'm the one who started inter-friend-tions! Remember when Kitty was dating the dude who thought he was Jesus?"

"Hey!" squeaked Kitty. "We said we wouldn't mention that again...and for the record, he had access to some great pot."

Marie pointed an accusatory finger at Jubilee, "And remember when Jubes got the Kate Gosselin hair cut?" Jubilee ran a hand to her evenly cut hair as Marie kicked off the covers and got out of bed, gesturing with her hands, "**THIS** does not need an inter-frient-tion...**I**do not need an inter-friend-tion, so you two can take your heartwarming advice, words of comfort and homecooked food elsewhere!"

She stomped into the bathroom, but after a quick pause, she returned and snatched the plate of food away from Kitty, "I'll keep the homecooked food...but note everything else."

After Marie stomped out of the room, Jubilee and Kitty looked at each other, "We need to talk to Logan."

When Marie fell back asleep that afternoon, Kitty and Jubilee decided to seek out Logan and get to the bottom of their friends troubles. They found him swimming in the pool.

Jubilee cocked her head to the side and paused to enjoy the view, but Kitty nudged her friend, effectively breaking her out of her daydream as she gazed at his shirtless, wet form emerging from the pool.

He looked up at them as he picked his towel up off of the chaise lounge beside the pool, "Hey."

"Hi Logan...how's it going?"

He gave a simple nod as he dried off his chest, "Been better."

Jubilee and Kitty nudged each other, silently fighting over who should talk first. Finally Jubilee cleared her throat and walked over to Logan, "Um...we're concerned about Marie."

Logan stopped drying himself and hung his head for a moment. When he looked up, he had a small smirk on his face, "I'm surprised it took you guys this long to confront me."

Kitty stepped forward, "For the record, Marie never told us you slept together."

His mouth dropped open. Before he could say anything, Jubilee spoke up, "We know her better than anyone. She got hurt, and she started acting out. She's rebelling against herself because, somehow, some way, you hurt her. She's angry at the Marie you knew because she allowed herself to get hurt."

Kitty nodded in agreement, "By now, you know how guarded she is. It's a big deal if she lets someone in. She let you in...somehow you burned her, and now she's changing her tactics to ensure she never gets hurt again."

He avoided the two women's eyes as much as he could as he wrapped the towel around his waist, "So...what do you want me to do about it."

"If you didn't really care about her, you could've dropped off the face of the planet and never come back...but you're here, and I think that means you give a damn. Either you do right by her and be the man she needs you to be, or you fess up and move on."

And with that, the two friends left, hoping that they had gotten through to Logan and that, one way or another, he would put an end to their friends suffering.

They wanted the old Marie back.

* * *

Logan always had been uncomfortable in anything other than jeans, so now, as he sat with a shirt and tie on in a lawyers office, he felt completely out of place.

The lawyer entered the office, still looking down at his file. He sat across from Logan and placed the file on the desk, "You came to the right lawyer, Mr. Howlett. This is a unique case, but I definitely think I can help you. It appears to be a bit of a long shot, but, it's still a shot."

"You think I could gain custody?"

The lawyer sighed, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Full custody is out of the question. Regular visitation is our goal. If we can convince a judge that you were tricked into signing away your parental rights, we won't have a problem establishing visitation."

"I just want to be apart of his life."

The lawyer nodded, "I understand...and I promise you, I'll do my best."

When he returned to the house, Marie had just finished working out with her trainer. As usual, her workout attire was tight and tiny.

He needed to make himself scarce...quick, but when she spotted him wearing a shirt and tie, she raised an eyebrow, "Wow...I feel like I should be checking the sky for flying pigs. You're wearing something other than denim."

Logan sighed and fumbled with the tie, "I had a meeting with the lawyer."

Marie nodded and looked down before muttering a brief apology and fiddling with her workout towel. She avoided his eyes as she spoke, "So...how'd it go?"

"Good. He thinks I might have a chance to be apart of Jack's life. Thanks for asking."

She finally brought her eyes back to his, "You're welcome."

Logan nodded and allowed one awkward second to pass before he began making his way toward the French doors that led to the back of the property and guest house. He stopped just before turning the door handle and looked back at her, "I wanted to thank you for helping me out-"

Marie cut him off by holding up her hand, "I just gave you a pay advance. It was a simple, employee-employer transaction." She sighed and crossed her arms, "I don't think I can handle you believing it was anything else."

He let out a breath as he watched her walk away.

* * *

Within days, Logan's lawyer filed a petition with the family court and Jean was notified that he was seeking visitation rights to Jack.

To say that she blew a gasket when she found out would have been an understatement. Nuclear bombs had been less explosive.

Marie was happily curled up on the plush recliner in her den, reading, when she heard the buzzer from her gate. She knew Sara was still in the house, so she would probably get it.

A few minutes later, Sara entered the room, "I know you're probably not in the mood for visitors...but...um...Jean Grey is at the gate and she says that it's urgent."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows, "It is about the movie?"

"She didn't say, but she sounded really really upset."

Marie closed her book and sighed, "Buzz her in."

A minute later, Sara was letting Jean into the house. Marie walked down the stairs, "Hi Jean. This is...quite a surprise."

Jean glanced at Sara and crossed her arms, "I'd prefer to speak to you...in private."

Marie nodded, then turned to Sara, "Would you give us a minute?"

The girl nodded and walked out of the room as Marie sat down in a chair and motioned for the couch. Jean sat and let out a deep breath, "Marie. I'm going to cut right to the chase. I think you need to fire your bodyguard."

Marie narrowed her eyes, "You think I should fire Logan?"

"Right."

"Um...I think I'm going to need a reason here. It's kind of odd that you'd show up, at my house, out of the blue. I mean...we're not necessarily friends."

Jean gently tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and nodded, "This is true...but as a co-worker and a fellow actress, I thought it was my responsibility to inform you that you're employing a deranged man."

"What makes you think Logan is deranged?"

Jean averted her eyes and began playing with the strap on her purse, "Well...I'm sure you know by now that he worked for me in the past...and during that time, I have reason to believe he stole from me."

Marie had to keep from laughing. Logan was a lot of things, but he definitely wasn't a thief. She simply nodded her head, "Wow...that is bad."

"And that's not all...the man filed a motion with the courts. Apparently he thinks he's the father of my child and is demanding visitation rights."

Marie raised her eyebrows, playing along, "That is crazy."

Thinking she had Marie on the line, Jean looked up at her and sat forward, "It is! I mean...I'm sure he's only after money. His claims are crazy and completely impossible. He's just another one of those former insiders looking for a pay off. I was hoping to warn you about him."

"If he's so bad, why didn't you tell me all of this when you first found out he was working for me?"

Jean stuttered a little, "W-w-well...up until now, I only had a suspicion that Logan was crazy. Now that's he's made these impossible claims, I figured I should speak up."

"Impossible...funny you should use that word."

"Why?"

Marie crossed her legs and shrugged, "I think that it actually IS possible that Logan fathered Jack. I mean, Lord knows the time line works out...and deep, hazel eyes like the ones Jack has look a lot like Logan's."

Jean started to say something, but Marie stood and continued, "For the record, Jean, Logan told me everything, and frankly, what you did to him and that little boy disgusts me."

The redhead stood to her feet with balled fists, "What I did to him?" She narrowed her eyes at Marie and cocked her head to the side, "I'm sure he only told you his side...or that I did it to help my faltering career...and he probably has you eating out of his hand. That's Logan. That's his way..." Jean laughed bitterly, "I may have gone about it the wrong way, but I was only trying to protect Jack from him! You'll find out sooner or later that when the going gets tough, Logan disappears."

The words immediately resonated with Marie. She'd already found that out. She found that out the morning after she slept with Logan and woke up in an empty bed.

Jean continued, "He wasn't dependable and he sure as hell wasn't faithful. In the long run, I was just trying to save the three of us major heartache. I was doing that bastard a favor...I was setting him free from responsibility I knew he didn't want."

Marie looked down as her mind ran a mile a minute. She looked back up at Jean, "Why were you trying to get him fired?"

She sighed and looked away, "Maybe it's the act of a desperate mother. I knew that, if he didn't have a job, the courts would be less inclined to grant him joint custody. Sorry I had to be deceitful. I just didn't really know how much you knew. I should go..."

Marie nodded absently as Jean left the way she came.

She was still sitting there a half hour later, when Logan entered the house. He sat down across from her, "Marie...I think we should talk."

Her eyes slowly moved to meet his, "I agree...me first." He nodded obligingly before she continued, "Jean was here...she gave me some rather interesting information."

* * *

**Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

Logan stood still, completely rooted where he stood. He and Marie had just gotten back to the point where they were being civil to each other...now, Jean had walked right in and blown them apart again.

"Look, Marie...before you say anything-"

Marie shook her head and stood before she started walking out of the room. Logan had to hop over the coffee table and stumble over an ottoman to intercept her before she made it to the stairs.

She held up her hands in silent protest at his attempt to touch her, then took a few steps backwards. Logan looked hurt, but recovered quickly, "So that's how it is, huh? That psycho comes in here, filling your head with all sorts of bull shit and you immediately believe her?"

"So you're saying you didn't cheat on her?"

Logan raised his eyebrows. He almost forgot that one, stupid night could come back to bite him in the ass.

The look on his face gave Marie all the confirmation she needed. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away again, but Logan grabbed her and gave her a jostling shake as he spoke, "Marie! You know the type of woman Jean is! Yes. I cheated...but you should at least hear me out."

She narrowed her eyes and sighed before pushing against his chest, successfully forcing him to release his hold on her arm, "Fine. Talk."

Logan let out a breath, "Jean was trying to keep things between us casual the whole time...but I was kinda falling for her. I was this useless sap who remembered shit like the place we first kissed and our first date...so, on the 6 month anniversary of the first time we did it, I pulled out all the stops. Flowers, rose petals on the bed, chocolates, champagne, candles...all the cliched romantic shit I figured she'd love. When she got home...she laughed at it...at me...at everything. I felt like a fuckin' idiot, so I left. Ended up at a bar...went home with this tramp named Emma. The next morning, Emma answered my phone and said enough to Jean so that she'd know what had gone down the night before and...there you go. I cheated."

Marie let out a breath, "Oh...why didn't you tell me?"

He nodded, "I sound like a pathetic ass, that's why."

Marie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest before murmuring, "You're not pathetic...but you sure are an ass."

Logan ran a hand through his hair and looked down, "I'm so fucked up when it comes to women..."

"I blame your mom."

He shrugged, "I was an orphan, remember?"

"Precisely. Maybe, if she had stuck around, she could've taught you a thing or two about how to deal with women...or maybe she would have taught you better than to fall for psychos like Jean Grey."

Logan laughed bitterly and looked down. After a pause, he let out a breath and looked back up at her, "I'm really sorry if I hurt you, Marie. It was never my intent...and you don't deserve that."

Marie bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. That move didn't go unnoticed by Logan.

He took a cautious step forward, fearful that she would recoil from his touch, but when she stood still, he moved close and pulled her into a hug. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling of her body against his. After several weeks of watching her, he'd been dreaming about holding her...kissing her...and making love to her again.

Logan gently threaded his fingers through her hair as he cupped the back of her head and pulled back to look into her face. He was heartbroken to see a small tear escaping out of the corner of her eye.

Something in his chest began to ache when he realized that this small tear was possibly one of a million that he had caused her. Before he could stop himself, he engulfed her lips in a hungry kiss.

To his surprise and pleasure, she returned the kiss...at first.

Marie shook her head, "I don't think I can do this..."

Logan was revving to go. He wanted her. He _NEEDED_ her.

He cupped her cheek with one hand and brushed her hair out of her face with the other hand as he looked into her tear rimmed eyes, "Marie...baby...you're the best thing that's ever happened to me...I don't know why the fuck I could have ever hurt you...I'm so fuckin' sorry..."

Marie pursed her lips together as Logan's hand slowly moved his hand down from her face to her neck, then to the zipper on her hoodie. They stared into each others eyes so intently, Logan failed to notice the delectable fact that Marie wore nothing beneath her hoodie.

He slowly and gently pulled her jacket off of her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, leaving her completely topless. His fingers ghosted across her collar bone as he looked into her eyes and reached down to pop open the button of her jeans.

Logan felt her grip on his arms tighten briefly as she broke his gaze and looked down at the floor, "Don't make me fall any harder for you than I already have...I...I couldn't survive it if you hurt me again."

"I've fallen all the way baby...and there's no way in hell I'm gonna hurt you again."

With those words, she allowed him to kiss her again. Soon, the kiss became heated beyond measure with articles of clothing being torn and discarded at a rapid fire pace. Soon, Logan had Marie pressed against a wall with her legs wrapped around his waist.

When he entered her, she cried out and arched her back, digging her nails into his shoulders, "Oh god..."

Logan planted a full kiss on her neck and waited for her body to relax before he began moving in and out of her. For several moments, he pistoned in and out of her against the wall before dropping to his knees with her still on his lap.

Marie placed her hands on his pecs and pushed him down on the floor as she began rolling her hips. Logan gripped her hips and growled as she ground against him.

He reached up and grasped her breast, massaging it eagerly as she continued to move against him.

Soon, he felt his climax approaching. He quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around her as he pressed his face against her chest and began bucking against her.

Just as he felt his release, he could sense her walls clenching tight around him, making his orgasm seem all the more intense as they rode out their climaxes together.

Logan breathed out and smiled as he felt her hug him close while his head stayed pressed against her chest.

That night, Marie and Logan laid in her bed, naked. She laid with her head near the headboard and he laid near the footboard, massaging her calf. They'd been making love and talking for the past several hours.

"Logan...can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

She sat up and looked at him, "I know you mentioned that you didn't really wanna be a father before Jack came along...but what about now that he's here?"

"You know I wanna be a father to my kid."

Marie nodded, "Yeah. To the one that's already here...but what about later on...do you think you want more?"

Logan raised a brow, "Is this one of those loaded questions where the answer determines whether you're gonna wanna keep me around?"

She laughed, "Maybe."

"You want kids, huh?"

"Maybe."

Logan rolled his eyes as he crawled up the bed and kissed her nose, "I guess I'm not gonna get a straight answer outta you, huh?"

Marie's expression turned serious for a moment, "Not until I feel like I can completely trust you again."

"Understandable...I can respect that. I deserve to live in purgatory for a while."

She cracked a smile and kissed him, "That, you do."

The next morning, Jubilee and Kitty burst into Marie's room to find a naked Logan scrambling to cover himself while an equally naked Marie grabbed a pillow to cover herself, "Shit! Don't you guys knock?"

"When have we ever!"

Kitty quickly and dutifully covered her eyes as she stumbled backwards in an effort to get out of the room. Jubilee crassly stared at Logan until Marie ordered her out of the room.

Ten minutes later, a red faced Logan was displeased to once again come face to face with Jubilee and Kitty as they sat in the living room. He quickly kissed Marie on the lips, "I'll see you later?"

She nodded and smiled as she watched him walk out the back doors to the guest house. Marie looked back at the expectant faces of her two friends. In unison, the women said, "Soooo?"

"Soooo...what?" she said nonchalantly as she walked to the kitchen.

Kitty and Jubilee followed close behind, "Details lady! Details!"

"Since when do we kiss and tell?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes, "We ALWAYS kiss and tell."

Kitty narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "Unless...you love him."

Jubilee gasped, "Do you?"

Marie bit her lip after pressing the button on the coffee maker, "I think so..."

* * *

**Review please! Sorry for the length, but, you know I'm dealing with two young children! I have an idea for a new fic, so hopefully I'll be able to put pen to paper and post it soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

Logan was relieved that he wasn't alone for his day in court.

Despite the fact that Jean had brought an entire entourage of supporters, he felt completely confident having Marie and Charles sitting behind him. When Jean entered the court room, Logan was relieved that looks couldn't kill, because Marie would have melted.

When the judge arrived and got things underway, of course, Jean's lawyer attempted to drag Logan through the mud, noting his own childhood (or lack thereof), his cage fighting past, his temper, his womanizing ways and his lack of a "proper home" for Jack to come visit him in.

They were successfully deconstructing his character and things were starting to look bleak. Marie watched Logan's head drop as he began losing faith in his ability to ever be apart of Jack's life.

She pursed as she watched Jean's lawyer pace in front of the bench, "Your honor, my client can provide a proper home and proper care for her son. Miss Grey currently provides Jack with two nannies, his own room and attends the finest preschool courses in the state. It's highly doubtful that Mr. Howlett would be able to provide his nomadic lifestyle and inconsistent employment status."

Marie watched Logan's lawyer shake his head, then whisper something in his ear. Whatever he said, made Logan sigh and rub his forehead. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

"He can provide the same for Jack...better," she said as she stood.

All eyes in the courtroom snapped to her. The judge furrowed his eyebrows and cleared his throat, "I am aware of who you are, but I need to know why you're here and why you believe your outburst is relevant to this hearing."

"Logan is my personal bodyguard...and my fiance."

Logan had to keep from whipping his head around at that declaration. There was a flurry of whispers on Jean's side of the court room as Marie stepped forward, "Logan and I can provide a healthy, happy, two parent household for Jack. I know you mentioned that you were aware of who I am...so you should also be aware that we can afford to hire help and provide Jack with everything he'll need if Logan is granted visitation or joint custody."

The judge crossed his arms, "Why wasn't this information revealed in your motion, counselor?"

Marie spoke up before Logan's lawyer could, "Because we were hoping to keep our engagement private and out of the tabloids, your honor. I value my privacy and rarely allow information concerning my private life to be made available to the public."

The judge nodded and jotted down some notes before telling Marie that she could take a seat.

The day seemed to drag on until, finally, the judge called for a recess. When they went out into the lobby, Jean and her "crew" glared at Logan and Marie as he pulled her off to a empty side room.

She figured he might be a little upset at the predicament she put him in, so she held up her hands as soon as the door was closed, "Look, before you say anything...I panicked. I knew you were losing the case and I was just trying to help. I know how much Jack means to you and I couldn't watch you lose him before you even had the chance to get to know him. I'm so-"

Logan cut her off by holding up a hand, "Just...stop talking."

Marie looked down sadly, but gasped when Logan grabbed her face and planted a loving kiss on her lips.

When the kiss ended, he looked into her eyes, "You're fuckin' brilliant, you know that?"

She laughed a little, "So I've been told..."

Logan sighed, "The only thing I regret is that now...you think the only reason I wanna marry you is so that I can see Jack..."

She blushed, "You actually wanna marry me?"

He grabbed her around her waist and yanked her body to his before kissing her deeply. Marie giggled against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were so lost in their kiss, they didn't hear it when his lawyer entered the room.

He cleared his throat and knocked on the door, successfully gaining their attention, "We're ready."

Back in the court room, the judge clasped his hands together and leaned forward, "I find that the complainant was misled into signing away his parental rights, therefore, I declare the termination agreement to be null and void. Now, being that the complainant has had no contact with the child in question, I find that it is my responsibility to ensure that the transition go as smoothly as possible. This court orders that the complainant be allowed unsupervised visitation with his father for a minimum of three days per week. The visits will only be allowed during the day until the child is more comfortable and adapting well to the visitation arrangement. At that time, the court will modify the visitation agreement to include overnight visits, then eventually, we'll settle on a joint custody arrangement."

Jean's lawyer stood, "Joint custody? Your honor that's-"

"That's reasonable, counselor. What your client did was disgusting. In my line of work, I've seen thousands of fathers do their best to get away from their responsibility, but here, you have one man who desperately wants to do whatever it takes to be apart of his child's life and you were scheming to keep him out. That's my decision and it is final. Good luck to you all."

* * *

**_Two years later..._**

Marie sat with Jack on her lap, reading him a bed time story in his room at her house, "Do you know what that word is, Jack?"

"Dat's Good."

"Right! Good night..."

Marie looked up to see Logan leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets. He wore a content smile as Jack hopped down off of Marie's lap and hopped into his bed. Logan walked over and kissed his son on the head, "Night kiddo...see ya tomorrow."

"Ni-ni daddy!"

He walked over and helped Marie out of the chair before rubbing a hand down her pregnant belly, "Thank you."

She led him out of Jack's room and smiled as she closed the door, "Thank you for what?"

"For makin' my life so damn perfect."

They started to kiss, but Jubilee's voice interrupted them, "You guys! The movie is about to start! Get your lovey dovey asses down here!"

Logan sighed as Marie laughed and led him toward the stairs. Despite the fact that he and Marie were now married, had joint custody of Jack and were expecting a child, he couldn't escape movie night with the girls.

**The End**

* * *

**Review please! I know it was a little short, but I do hope you enjoyed it! I will be (hopefully) posting a new fic soon. It'll involve an arranged marriage and it'll be inspired by some of my favorite romance movies! Stay tuned!**


End file.
